Grippers are fluid operated (usually pneumatic or hydraulic) devices which are used in industry in large numbers on machining and assembly fixtures. Many different types of grippers are available commercially and they generally have in common the provision of two or more arms which are movable toward and away from one another to grip or release a workpiece, either to hold it in position so that some operation can be performed thereon or to move it to the next operation. Both arms can be movable, or one arm can be movable with the other arm remaining stationary. Commonly, each arm is provided adjacent its free end with a jaw retainer of some sort to attach a jaw insert, such as hard or soft pads, or cone and point inserts for gripping a sheet material workpiece. The present invention is applicable to virtually any type of powered gripper, but resides in the provision of improved cone and point jaw inserts, a retainer therefor and an improved universal mounting device for mounting a gripper to a support bar.
Prior cone and point jaw inserts of which applicant is aware each comprise a number of separate parts, and the cone insert is completely different from the point insert, so that after each is worn it must be discarded. Installation and adjustment of such inserts is also relatively complicated.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to avoid the aforesaid disadvantages of prior inserts. It resides in the provision of a simple, relatively inexpensive one-piece insert which replaces both the cone insert and the point insert, as a result of which it can be reused as a new cone insert after it has been fully used (worn) as a point insert, and vice versa, thus doubling the life of the insert. The insert of the present invention is also very light in weight, thus permitting faster cycle times, and is extremely simple to install and adjust. The latter is further facilitated by the provision of a set-up groove on the insert to make it visually easy to install to an initial position.
The insert retainer of the present invention is also very simple in design and provides for the locking of a plurality of inserts to the same retainer utilizing a single fastener, which can be operated by the same tool (a simple allen wrench) which is used to adjust the inserts.
The universal gripper mount of the present invention is advantageous in that it resides in a single part having a single fastener for slidably and rotationally securing a gripper to the mount, as well as slidingly, rotationally and swivelably securing the mount to a support bar.
These and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.